Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire: by Jim Cymbala with Dean Merrill

Author: Jim Cymbala

Jim Cymbala believes that Jesus wants nothing more than to renew and revive his people and to call us back from spiritual dead ends that lead only to apathy and lukewarm religion.

As pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, one of America's most remarkable churches, he knows first hand the transforming power of God's love - strong enough to convert prostitutes, pimps, drug addicts, homeless people, and transvestites. Strong enough to draw professional men and women, blacks, whites, and Hispanics together in worship. Strong enough to rekindle our own dull hearts and flagging spirits.

Twenty-five years ago, the Brooklyn Tabernacle could barely draw twenty people to a Sunday service. Today it is six thousand strong, a testament of what God can do when men and women begin to pour out their hearts to God.

The story of what has happened to a broken down church in one of America's meanest neighborhoods points the way to new spiritual vitality in the church and in your own life. But don't look in this book for faddish techniques(you won't find them. And while the Tabernacle today has an interracial membership and a world-renowned choir, don't look for an emphasis on cross-culturalism, numbers, or well-orchestrated worship music.

Instead, look for what God can do when a handful of people humble themselves and take the Gospel seriously. When believers turn to their last and only recourse(their knees(and discover there the life-changing reality of the Holy Spirit. A hopeless young woman, freed from abuse, drugs, and immorality . . . an AIDS-ridden male prostitute, given dignity, manhood, and hope . . . these and other true-life accounts show what God does when we set aside our own agendas, take him at his word, and listen for his voice.

Whether you're a pastor or a layperson, if you're hungry for more of God, this book will break your heart and restore your passion. It will challenge you with the simplicity of the Gospel and inspire you with hope that God can and will move in your circumstances. The result will stir and refresh you, awakening your hunger to experience all that God intends for your life. Jim Cymbala has been the pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle for twenty-five years. In that time the congregation has grown from twenty members to more than six thousand. He lives in New York City with his wife, Carol Cymbala, who directs the Grammy Award-winning Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.

Dean Merrill is the author of ten books. The former president of the Evangelical Press Association, he is also former vice president of Focus on the Family. He and his wife live in Colorado Springs, Colorado.